IT IS BY GRACE THAT WE ARE SAVED.... Today I am drawn to this wonderful verse in Ephesians 2:8 - For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast I am thankful for the grace of God in my life.....This does not mean that I can live as I please, take it for granted or make choices that grieve the Holy Spirit. It does mean however that I am very aware that I could never earn what I was given so freely on the cross. I am no more deserving of it than any other sinner...I am not better , neither do my works here or anywhere else give me a free pass to salvation....I am made whole purely by the love and grace of a Saviour who flows endlessly with abundant pure love and grace for me and all His children who believe in Him and have faith in Him. Without Him, without His grace, I am an empty vessel...nothing, not worthy enough to approach the throne of God. How does this affect the way I live my life? Perhaps the most important thing is that I know I have no right to stand in judgement over others. To do so would mean that I do not see others as deserving the same grace that has saved me, or I am like the man forgiven his debt who then goes and throws another who owes him into jail. As Jesus explains...there is no hierarchy of sin....sin is sin...thus he explains: You have heard that the ancients were told, YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT MURDER and Whoever commits murder shall be liable to the court. But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be guilty before the court; and whoever says to his brother, You good-for-nothing, shall be guilty before the supreme court; and whoever says, You fool, shall be guilty enough to go into the fiery hell.… (NLT) We could never live in complete obedience to the law no matter how hard we tried and this is why Christ came and died for us...meaning that we no longer live under the condemnation of the law but we now live under the redemption of His grace. The fact that you keep one law and break another is not enough, sin is sin, whichever law of the prophets you break and there are nearly 600 of them in the old testament excluding the 10 commandments !! In Romans 3:21 Paul explains But now God has shown us a way to be made right with Him without keeping the requirements of the law as was promised in the writings of Moses and the prophets long ago. We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes no matter who we are. For everyone has sinned and fallen short of Gods glorious standard and in Romans 5:1 Therefore since we have been made right in Gods sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us. Because of our faith , Christ has brought us to this place of underserved privilege where we now stand , and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing Gods glory. To have faith in Jesus, means to love and believe in Him, If we believe in Him then we seek to obey His commandments and in doing so we live in the light of His Promise. He lives in us, He becomes our righteousness. Its important to remember therefore Christs words to us - Do not judge others and you will not be judged. For you will be treated as you treat others. The standard you use in judging is the standard by which you will be judged Matthew 7:1 Remember this as you deal with others who are struggling with sin, challenges or living in obedience to Gods laws. Remember that you received grace and so will they if they believe....We are all made whole by His blood alone, let us therefore be humble, merciful and compassionate in dealing with others. Let us love as He loves us! Pray for them to come to know His love instead of condemning them or threatening them with the fires of Hell...they are no closer to it than you and I are...except for His grace! Be blessed today dear brethren and may the peace of the living God guard your hearts and mind and fill you with His love and light in Jesus name. Amen ©Jennifer. I @His Love Within Please like, comment and share and love as He loves you!!! Like this page for daily updates from His Love Within.
Posted on: Thu, 11 Dec 2014 08:58:55 +0000
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